#4- 37 weeks

My photo is crappy and I look like, well, crap in it.  I've been staying up late every night finishing up work and the result is pure exhaustion.  I'm happy to say that I just finished up the last session and I'm done!  Baby will hopefully give me another week so that I can get the house cleaned up and the rest of the stuff I need to do for baby done.

Things have been pretty normal for this stage.  I'm a giant whale, waddle like a duck and am sore.  I get braxtons all the time and contractions hit here and there as well.  We are definitely nearing the finish line.

I had my 36 week appointment this past Monday.  We did the GBS test which I'm sure I will fail again.  I just finished up a round of antibiotics for that nasty sinus infection that I had so they pretty much told me no matter what they are going to treat me.  The antibiotics could give them a false negative reading and that wouldn't be good for baby if I was positive and no one got treated.  Since I had it with all the other three its pretty much a guarantee I am positive even if the test is negative.

Baby is still doing well in there even if s/he is running out of room.  Bpm was at 135.  I was measuring a week ahead.  When he did my cervical I measured at 4 1/2 cm dilated already.  While this is further along than the other three at 36 weeks it's still normal for me.  I always dilate & efface very early and then walk around in a state of "should be in labor".  Everyone gets worried that the baby will fall out.  It just makes my labors pretty fast.

My husband is a saint.  He has been doing everything around the house.  And I mean taking care of the kids when he gets home so I can work, cooking, cleaning.  I haven't done a load of laundry in probably 2 or 3 weeks.  I love him.  He's the best.  Our anniversary is on Sunday and I really hope baby doesn't come on that day.  We deserve one day to ourselves.  We can't do anything too special since we have to stick pretty close to the hospital but just a day with the two of us will be so nice.  It doesn't happen very often.

Ok, it's time to put your guesses down for sex of the baby and so on so forth.  This time you guys should really enter your guesses on this website Max set up.  It makes things easier to track to see who is the closest!  It will only take a couple minutes and is kind of fun.  I know tons of you read this.  I see the stats.  Just do it :)
http://www.babyhunch.com/poolpage.php?poolid=0d55b9e95be2df2692ed053f3e11591a

#4- 32-35 weeks

35 weeks!  5 weeks until due date and 3-4 weeks until baby will likely be here with us :)  Give me an award for the fastest pregnancy every experienced.

These last few weeks have been interesting.

 My 32 week appointment went well.  Baby was measuring 2 weeks ahead and had a bpm of 135-140.  Everything was normal and fine!

I wasn't planning on going to a 34 week appointment but I had (and still have) been having some extreme braxton hicks and contractions.  I was getting concerned so I went in.  Obviously I have been through this three other times but never have I had such intense braxtons.  They are stop in your tracks and breathe through them strong.  Sometimes I'm just not sure if they are braxtons or real contractions.  Either way, I went in.  Baby was moving and grooving and seemed to be just fine.  Bpm was 160.  He didn't measure my belly to see what I was measuring there but I did have him do a cervical and I am 2 1/2 cm dilated right now.  That is completely normal for my body (remember I was walking around at 6cm dilated with Simon) so everything is on track.  Whew.  What a load off my shoulders.

The last two weeks I have been extremely sick.  I have never been so sick in my life.  It seems trivial to say it was a sinus infection but it was a severe sinus infection and brutal.  My poor hubby has been doing everything around the house and taking care of the kids and had to take some time off work.  I mean, I was completely useless.  Light and movement hurt my face (which was about to explode at any moment) and my days and nights were spent in my bed, in the dark with an ice pack on my face.  Whenever Max asked if I needed anything I just asked for sweet, sweet death.  It was so painful.  I started feeling sick on Tuesday the 10th and yesterday was the first day that I felt relatively normal.  I still have a cold and a sore throat but nothing to what I was feeling.  That was terrible.  I lost quite a bit of weight too so I guess the only perk would be that my weight gain won't be as high as it could have been.

Since I have been sick, I am super stressed out about everything I need to get done before the baby comes.  I have mountains of photos to wrap up, I need to get all the Christmas presents bought and wrapped, my house needs a good GOOD scrubbing and I still have some stuff I need to prep for the baby.  I'm feeling the pressure of time and it's not cool.

Next week is 36 weeks and the start of my weekly appointments!  I can't even believe that in a month I will be a momma to 4 kids.

#4- 29-31 weeks

And there you are folks.  We are down to the single digits for weeks.  9 weeks left.  Every week I try to figure out how the past day, week, month flew by so fast but I can't figure it out.  All I know is that we have 9 weeks left until due date.  I've never made it to my due date before which means its pretty likely I have less than 9 weeks.

In the last few weeks I have started swelling big time.  My legs are just huge stumps compared to what they used to be.  By the end of the day they are just rock hard.  I even wore old granny compression socks yesterday and it was the first time I finished the day with my legs looking like they used to.  My shoes don't fit and I have to wear my fat foot Uggs.  My saggy baggy sweat socks even leave indents in my legs from being tight.

I have not weighed myself in a very long time.  I guess the last time would be the doctors office at my 28 week appointment but their scale and ours at home differs so I have been measuring by our scale at home.  Let's just say it's not a small amount.  I will easily pass Ada's weight gain and might have already.  <-- insert tears.  I am familiar with this process and soon the jowls will kick in and the plump cheeks.  The attractive stage is about to hit real hard.

I feel like I'm sticking "out" farther with this babe.  The clothes that I wore at the very end of my other pregnancies I'm wearing now and there isn't much room left to grow.  I actually bought a couple of shirts today while shopping so my selection would be a bit larger.  Also so I could feel a little better about having something new to wear.

Braxton's have started up pretty regularly.  A real small contraction here and there when I overdo it.  Heartburn hasn't been as bad which is weird.  I feel like my hormones have been pretty under control too.  If, IF I was to compare pregnancies I would say this one is more similar to the boys.  That doesn't mean anything of course but I was smaller, no swelling and more hormonal with Ada.  Time will tell I suppose if these are my "signs" of the sex of the baby.

Squirt has moved his/her attention from my pelvic floor to my ribs and quite painfully.  Those sweet, cute little toes are always trying to take out my bottom rib on my left side.  I try to move it but s/he really wedges it under there.  Body parts are constantly sticking out making bumps and moving & grooving my belly around.  The kids were watching one day and were flabbergasted that the baby would be doing that from the inside.  Every time I try to get a video of it though Squirt stops.  Obviously.  Why cooperate?

Dexter likes to say, "Mom, it's going to hurt a lot when the baby comes out.  Like A LOT."  What a helpful son I have to remind me of these things.  Especially since he has experienced this himself.  This is an area that is leaving me quite irritated and ticked off.  Quite a few other mothers have started bringing up birth stories now that I am closer and I am fine with that.  I enjoy remembering my birth stories as all moms do.  I had epidural births with both boys and a natural water birth with Ada.  I will be doing another natural water birth with this baby.  As long as I make it there.

What TICKS me off is that just because I have extremely fast labors women seem to think that it was just nothing.  "Oh, your labors are so fast you barely  have to feel anything!  Nothing like my "x" amount of hours in labor."  Oooooo, grrrrrrrr.  Rightttttttttttttt.  You are quite right!  My labors are so fast it was just like taking a luxurious bath and then sneezing and the baby came out!  I might as well have just been at the spa!  Kiss my ass.  I had to squeeze all that dilating and contractions into a tiny amount of time with ZERO time to take a breath or adjust.  Just because my labors are quick doesn't mean they aren't painful or meaningful.  Why do women feel like they have to one-up another?  And not just with this but with everything?  It drives me insane and I want to punch them in the face.  Repeatedly.  Everyone has a story and it was meaningful and special and whatever to them.  How about we not dismiss it because our story is different?

Sorry to rant.  I wasn't lying when I said this particular thing ticks me off.

I have started prepping for the wee one.  I dug out the newborn clothes to wash.  That was a hormonal experience.  I bought the newborn diaper covers we need.  We had to use wool with Ada & Simon so I'm really rooting for being able to use PUL diaper covers with this one.  When I am at Target, I've started to buy packs of wipes here and there.  Today I bought hangers for the baby's closet.  Who knew you would need so many hangers with 4 kids?  I turned Ada around in the car seat.  This really isn't completely necessary yet but why not.  I was cleaning out the van and figured might as well.  We can't have both her car seat and the baby's car seat backwards as the boys wouldn't be able to get in the van very easily.  I don't even know what else there is to do.  Wash the diapers but I'll do that closer to the due date.

Next week is 32 weeks and my next doctor appointment.  Did you know that I had to call and make my 36 week appointment?  I wanted to be sure I got the date and time I needed (I have to make it back home in time for Dexter's bus).  36 weeks.  I can't even.

Guys, I'm having another baby.  FOUR KIDS.

#4- 25-28 weeks

Whoops.  What can I say?  Things are busy.  Life is busy.  This is how it will be for the next umpteen years of my life.  Tending to these kids, growing them, teaching them, and the biggie- NOT SLEEPING.  I miss sleep.  I miss it so much.  I feel at any point of the day I could lay down and sleep. I curse those days where I casually tossed sleep around like it was nothing.

Enter THIRD TRIMESTER.  Say what?  What in the Sam's hell is going on?  Third trimester?  There are only TWELVE weeks until this baby's due date.  Only 12 weeks until Christmas folks.  Maybe you should start panicking with me.

The last month hasn't been overly spectacular in the pregnancy department.  Obviously it's wonderful seeing Squirt grow and man alive is s/he active.  Squirt moves around so, so much.  Not surprisingly, baby is the most active at night.  Rolls around, kicks, punches, does some sort of quivering move.  Do babies get the shivers?  That's almost what it feels like.  I do believe both Simon and Ada were active night babies.

Heartburn has come back with a vengeance.  Everything gives me heartburn.  Not even just food related.  I can sit wrong and I get heartburn.  If things are too squished in there at all the heartburn starts almost immediately.  It's not as horrible as it was with Ada but more frequent than with Ada.  I don't think anything could compare with the rolling waves of acid that came with Ada's pregnancy.

Rolling over in bed is an insane amount of work.  I feel like a big, fat cow.  Our scale decided to play a mean trick and was "broken" of sorts and told me a certain weight that I was quite happy with.  One week later it told me I had gained 10 lbs.  I was not happy with that.  Turns out, the 10 lbs heavier was correct.  Blah.  At least I have no stretch marks, right?

Cravings have been: meatloaf with mashed potatoes, berry flavored things but not the berry itself (this is the weirdest thing as I am normally an avid berry avoider) and caramel rolls (I haven't indulged in this yet).

One very happy milestone that we have finally reached is that our baby has names.  This has been the longest that it has taken Max and I to pick out a name.  It has really felt like a weight on my shoulders and made me feel like I couldn't bond with the baby.  I like to call the baby by name in my head (I alternate the names since we don't know the sex) and being unable to do so has made bonding take longer. That and the fact that I have three small kids running around and can never think about being pregnant.  Either way, my sweet babe finally has names and no, we won't be telling you or anyone. Everyone can find out when Squirt comes out.

I have been pregnant 5 times.  This is my 4th pregnancy to reach this stage.  Never have I had a child focus his/her movements so much on my pelvic floor.  This kid rarely kicks up on my stomach.  It is always a straight shot for my lady bits.  What the world is s/he doing in there?  It is a very strange feeling.  I've been trying to just get used to it but I can't.  It feels so foreign that I wish I could reach up there and just turn the babe so s/he would kick my ribs.  I'd rather have my ribs kicked than my lady bits.  A mild comparison would be like when you get a pap smear and they take that 12 inch Q-tip and scrape it all along your cervix.  Scrape scrape scrape.  The baby is continually giving me a pap smear all day long.  I love this baby but I do NOT love that.

There really isn't much to do to get ready for this baby.  The pack and play can be set up in our room the day we come home from the hospital.  Ada is kicked out of the crib and happily established in her big girl bed.  Not that the baby will need the crib for a few months after birth anyway.  I found the car seat, the cozy zip up warmer thing for the car seat and the car seat cover.  I'll wash those when I get the energy to find the newborn boy & girl clothes and pick out a weeks worth of both to wash.  What else is there?  I think the baby tub is in my closet somewhere.  Swing will be out already because I have a baby starting in November for daycare.  Done.  Man, fourth babies are easy to get ready for.

I probably should mention hormones.  Um, they are a bit whacky lately.  And by a bit I mean they strike at
random and weird moments preventing me from being the levelheaded gal I normally am.  Even in the midst of a hormonal breakdown, I know it's the hormones but they are so powerful they take hold and don't let go.  Poor Max.  Poor poor Max.

I have the dreaded glucose test on Monday.  This will be my first doctor appointment in 15 weeks.  Can't go another 15 weeks can I?  I'll probably do another appointment at 32 weeks and at 36 weeks start the weekly appointments.  I dilate and efface so early and walk around in a labor state without actually being in labor that those last weekly appointments are very important.  We have to keep track of what is going on so we don't have a car baby.  All my labors have been cut in half every time so that would mean this one will be, what, 45 minutes from start to finish?  I'll just step aside at a family Christmas gathering, squat down, give birth and be back out for dinner.  Who would want to miss the feast?

#4- 24 weeks

Week 24.

Hormones: Not cool.  Making me cry at everything.  Like watching Little Women when Beth dies.  Sob.  When Dexter gets on and off the bus.  Sob.  When I'm lying in bed at 4 in the morning and can't sleep.  Sob.  I don't handle hormones well.

Heartburn:  It's baaaaaaaack.

Aches:  Located in my hips and lower back.  Baby is getting heavy and my hips are spreading.  Always awesome.

Patience (especially at this very moment):  Zero.

Hunger:  Operation Eat Everything in Sight.

Boom.  Week 24.

There are too many people waiting to see my short hair.  Sorry but it's nothing special.  I didn't have the gal style it or anything.  I don't know how to work short hair anymore so since I will have another appointment soon for some color I figure I will style it then when I know what I will do with it.

#4- 22 & 23 weeks

I squished two weeks together.  I'm a busy gal, you know?  We took the picture but I left immediately to get away from my kids and re cooperate from, well, being a mom.  Then a day went by and another and I said, "hell, I'm not writing something now when I'll have to again on Friday."  See how that goes?

Things have been fine.  I'm still pregnant.  My little Squirtypie is growing and getting large.  Kicks and whacks are getting stronger and stronger.  I swear, the other day, it was like s/he reached out and purposely flicked my lady bits.  It was the weirdest feeling and honestly felt like a flick from the inside.  What the devil is Squirt doing in there?  And what's the problem with my lady bits?  Doesn't s/he realize that soon enough s/he will be making a super fun journey down that path?  Better be nice to it.

An issue of pregnancy that I'm struggling with is the fact that it means waking every day and discovering a new smell that makes your entire house smell like a garbage truck.  Why do I have to have the sniffer of a bear getting ready for hibernation?  There isn't a day that I can't find something that stinks.  Yikes.  No cleaning will get rid of it because once I figure one smell out another emerges.  And it's not just the crap that Ada is literally putting in her pants or the fact that I have two small boys who think tooting is the most hilarious thing ever.  Actually, I have discovered that my boys have really smelly feet.  Instantly brought me back to the days when I lived at home and my brother's feet would reek up the whole house.

My tots.  They are getting big.  The women out there who cherish and love their big bosoms, who show that deep V cleavage off to kingdom come... those women?  Something has knocked them off their rocker.  Maybe they just don't remember the glorious time in their early teenage years where tiny tots were glorious and not having to wear a bra offered so much comfort.  If you can't tell, I love my tiny boobs.  LOVE them.  I don't care who knows it.  Tiny boobs are the way to go.  Why boob jobs outnumber breast reductions is beyond me.  I have reached the stage of pregnancy where my lovely lady lumps (I hope this is what Fergie was referring to.  Maybe I should look that up.) have started preparation for the months to years of breastfeeding and are plumping up.  I had to dig up bras and pay attention to what shirts make my bra-less state look ridiculous.  I am not enjoying this.  Needless to say, my husband is happy about it.  Whatever.  Men.

Sneezing has become very dangerous.  It was dangerous before.  I mean, imaging pushing three kids out of your whooha.  I don't care how many kegals you do... that thing is never going back to normal.  Add in the pressure of a baby who likes to lounge on your bladder like it's a giant water bed?  Yikes.  You better be prepared and have those legs crossed or you are about to need to change your undies.  Let's be honest, you just can't be prepared for every sneeze.  It just doesn't happen.  Thank goodness I'm home all the time.  What do those poor souls do that go to work and sneeze?  They spend the day in damp knickers, that's what.

Turning over in bed has gotten fun.  I know it will just get more fun.  Heaving and lurching the belly just so you can roll over sounds great I'm sure.  Grunts and groans just to roll over.  I have to do this quite a bit as my hips and lower back give me some trouble.  I had some of these issues with Ada but not to this extent and not so early.  I'm chalking it up to the fact that I am pregnant for the fourth time in 5 years.  That's a lot on a body.  Sometimes I just want to ask Max to just stand on my hips just to put some pressure on them and get them back into the right spot but you have to lay on your stomach for that and laying on my stomach was out the window a loooong time ago.  I'll just have to deal with it.  I wonder how long before the kids are mimic-ing my hands on hips pose?  That should be funny to see from Ada.

Onward to week 24.  I honestly had to look back on the calendar and count how far along I was.  I forgot.  Next doc appt is at 28 weeks.  I'm really stretching those bad boys out.  I figure baby is moving and I'm healthy.  No need to give those insurance companies what they want.

***FYI- Turns out that wasn't what Fergie was talking about.  My ass is getting big too but who wants to talk about that?****

#4- 20 weeks HALFWAY!

I'm halfway done brewing my fourth baby.

As the queen of getting pregnant, I'm having a hard time reminding myself that this could very well be the last time.  I'm so busy that it's hard to take the time and savor some of the things going on.  I am NOT savoring the pure exhaustion that fills my every waking moment.  I could do without that.  I am trying to pay close attention and put away in my mental memory box the delicate little kicks and rolls.  The swishes I can feel going on in there that will only get stronger and stronger until they almost hurt.  It really is the best part of pregnancy the feeling of the movement.

My belly is getting large.  I often "forget" that I'm pregnant and get really annoyed when my belly doesn't fit into tight places it used to or I bump into things that I feel like I just could do fine last week.  Squirt is really getting big in there.  I've even started outgrowing some of the maternity clothes that I have.  DANG.  I personally feel that as a mother and a growing mother at that, sorting through clothing is one of the worst jobs and the most unappreciated.  Sorting through three kids worth of clothes is ANNOYING.  Add my own clothes to the mix and I'm just done.  Everyone should just go naked.  Ok, not naked.  Most of the time my kids are in their underwear though.

There really isn't much to report for this week.  I'm not as funny and clever as last week because I'm a different sort of exhausted right now.  My funny posts come on the days where I'm both exhausted and irritated with the day.  Then I don't give two sh*ts about what I say.  Now I'm just too tired to even think.

I had my first chiropractor appt this week.  I'm all messed up but that doesn't surprise anyone.  Now I'm just all sore.  Again, not surprising.  We do have our ultrasound on Monday!  Very excited to see our little Squirt up on the big screen!  We plan on bringing the whole clan to the big event. That poor ultrasound tech...  This is when we will see how Max does on his skill with reading people.  He is 3 for 3 on guessing the sex of the baby based purely on how the Doctor acts/talks during the ultrasound.  The Doctor that did the other three no longer works at our clinic so this will be a new person.  I can't even tell you how PISSED I'll be if this person screws up and tells us the sex of the baby.  The wrath of my hormones will be upon them.

You know, I'm enjoying the nice tan that my arms and face have accumulated over the summer.  Too bad my belly screws up my "tan" facade and shows what my skin tone really is

#4- 19 weeks and counting

What the HECK.  Nineteen weeks?  NINETEEN WEEKS?  I swear, I just rolled over and told Max, "Whoops...well, that takes care of that.  I'll be pregnant. You watch."

This is flying by.  People, you better start your Christmas shopping because I will blink again and wake up pushing this human out of me.  Holy schnikes.  NINETEEN WEEKS.  Let me get over my shock.

I knew this pregnancy would go fast.  I mean, I have three small kids so there is no time in the day to dwell on anything let along the fact that another human is growing inside me.  I'm pregnant over an insanely busy summer so weeks are flying by just from our schedule.  Friday turns into Thursday immediately.

Anyway, onto baby talk.

I had a bit of a scare?  No, that's not the word... a concerning moment a couple weeks ago.  I've been having Braxtons as you know which is no big deal but I started having some intense, and I mean intense pressure with some cramping thrown in for good measure.  While I was sure this was probably somewhere along the lines of normal, this was not normal for me.  I never had anything like this while pregnant with the other three so I called up my doc's nurse to see what she thought.  In stellar VIP style, Susa (the doc) actually called me back.  I was shocked too.  I'm sure we will see it on our bill.  I had no bleeding and he didn't think it was labor so early on so there was no reason to come in unless that started.  I was told to "take it easy, Jessie.  You need to slow down." Hahahaha.  Yeah, that's happening.  HELLOOOOO, Susa, you have been all down in my business three times getting the fruit of my loins out of my body.  Slowing down is not possible.

In all seriousness, I do really need to tone things down and have been trying.  I find it very hard to have restrictions during pregnancy but my husband is awesome and just making me sit.  "Relax" is a work I hear often.  I try to do this for the baby.  I feel immensely guilty though when I see Max come home from working all day and then run around the house tending to the kids, making dinner, checking on me to be sure I'm listening.  Have I mentioned how awesome my husband is?  He rocks.

My little Squirtypie is very active now.  I feel him all the time rolling and kicking around in there.  Max has felt him once while we were snuggling to sleep.  I was facing his back and the baby gave a giant kick and Max felt it on his back.  Dexter has also felt the baby with his hand but it was so faint I think Dex didn't believe it was from the baby.  Squirt will get stronger and stronger and then he will believe it more.

This summer is dreadful.  Awful.  Disgusting.  Hence the fact that I didn't even want to put on shorts to do a bare belly photo.  I can't stand this heat when I'm pregnant.  Why, oh WHY can't fall come?  Not fall so much as the weather?  Forget summer and the stupid humidity this year.  Normally, sure, throw it at me.  Love it but this year?  Yuck.  I'm miserable.  I think of those poor, poor souls due in August or September and I think, "Suckers!  Didn't know when to get preggo".  This heat causes swelling, water retention and bad attitude out of me.  My poor kids are only allowed outside with me during the early morning or late evening.  This is a boring summer for them.

I read that I'm supposed to stay off my back now.  Good gravy.  I already had to give up my stomach sleeping months ago and now I have to stay off my back?  What are they trying to do to me?!!  And for some reason, I have developed this horrible trait where if there is any light in the room, ANY LIGHT, I can't sleep.  So, in a tricky turn of events, I am actually starting to sleep though the night (no pee wake up calls!) but waking up at 6 to pee means I'm up at 6 because those tiny amounts of light coming through the blackout curtains keep me awake.  Dumb. This lack of sleep is contributing nicely to my bad attitude from the humidity.  I must be a joy to be around.

Until next week!  When I am halfway done.  AH!

#4- 17 weeks

I'd like to start by saying:
A.  I don't like to base my photography skills on my weekly photos.  I promise I am better than what these show.  I'm generally in a hurry for these and my house is dark.  Get it done.  In and out.  You get the picture.
B.  I dug up the weekly photos from my pregnancy with Dexter so you can compare a wee bit.  I had to crop that weird though because I don't know what I was doing back then when I saved everything.

Another week skipped.  This has been and continues to be a crazy busy summer.  Last weekend I was up on the North Shore visiting my friend, Sarah.  Rachel came with me and it was a heavenly escape from the mom-ness of our lives.  For the first time, I had a rough time transitioning to vacation mode where no one needed me, there was nothing to do and nothing to clean.  I could just sit down.  Perhaps read a book.  It was amazing.

Anyway, so Squirt grew.  I'm feeling my little lovebutt more and more every day which is great.  It sounds like Max is excited for when we will be able to feel the babe from the outside.  I remember clearly this happening before the 20 week ultrasound with Ada but this baby doesn't feel as strong as she did so I don't know if that will be the case this time.  I can't wait though for the boys to feel the baby.  They will be so excited!

I was starting to get out of that first trimester exhaustion but this past week has just completely leveled me.  I am so, so exhausted I can barely do much more than stay off the couch.  Because this is impossible to do with three small kids I've been as crabby as a bear.  I hope my kids still like me by the end of this pregnancy.  It is just unbelievable how tired pregnancy makes you.  I feel like a schmuck when my hubby comes home and I haven't even been able to clean up the kitchen after lunch.  Thank goodness he is very understanding.  I know I need to tone things down and just take it a bit easy but that just doesn't seem possible.  There is too much to do anyway and the few things we are doing around here to prep for baby need to be done during the summer before daycare starts back up again.  Fall is coming and things are insane for the photo business so basically it will be go go go until November.  Then I will only be a month out!

I'm surprised to say that I've already been getting Braxton Hicks.  I was going to look up to see if that is normal or not because it just doesn't seem like I should be getting them this early.  I know I don't drink enough water which causes them but I never drink enough water and didn't with any of my pregnancies so this isn't any different.  Again, I probably just need to take it easy.  I'm overdoing it.

Here and there I feel a lot of pressure on my pelvis almost like things are settling or something.  I don't remember that happening so early with the other three.  It seems once you hit the 4th pregnancy, your body and uterus just give up and say, "TO HELL WITH YOU".  I have all the late 2nd trimester pregnancy symptoms already.  My back is a bit sore, my hips get achy and I swear I can almost feel my body walking in a waddle.  Honestly, the bod is giving up.  I had my first bout of swelling this week.  Super awesome.  My legs and feet were a bit puffy.  I'm sure that was from driving home from the North Shore as I noticed it right when we got home.

Sorry, no cheeky snarky words of life this week.  I'm too tired.  I'll be skipping next week again as we are heading up to the cabin for a long weekend with a hellaofalot of people in a small cabin.  Good times!

#4- 15 weeks

How are you supposed to start these things?

Dear Squirt,

This week we got the flu.  That was not fun.  Why the dickens in the flu going around in July?  That isn't right.  After we finally felt better, my stomach was so flat that it didn't even look like you were in there.  Seems as though you have made me regain my shape already.  

We went to the Afton Strawberry Festival last weekend and we stopped at this one vendor who sold  salsas and jams.  When I told him that I don't normally like strawberries but have been craving strawberry flavor with this pregnancy, he looked around at our little family of tiny kids and said, "I love me a good Catholic woman."  Hmmm... As if our frequency at reproducing is strictly religion based.  I know he meant it in good humor but he's lucky that I'm easy going.  I informed him that I am indeed not Catholic but merely extremely fertile.  Take that.

I know I felt you this week!  I can't pinpoint a day but here and there you have made yourself known.  Even just within the hour when I was bent over trying to get the best angle for blowing bubbles for your siblings you gave me a kick and made yourself known.  Granted your kick felt like little flutters but it was you.  It's nice to finally feel you!  Dex and Simon will be so, SO excited the first time they get to feel you.  It will be a while before that.

You gave me my first heartburn this week.  I'm not looking forward to the heartburn that you will give me later.  It was manageable this time and I could even forget about it for a while but it was there.  I only get heartburn while pregnant.  

Your father and I have no headway on your name.  Generally I'm very strict about making sure we have it picked out before the ultrasound since you father is so good and guessing what you are but this time?  Eh.  We have gone through and dissected names three times and I'm just not wanting to deal with it.  Daddy might get his way and will just come up with it when we do.  The only names we end up liking are on the top 100 and I try to stay away from that.

Love you Squirtypie.  Until next week!

#4 14 weeks

I should be embarrassed by my photo but you know what?  This is real life.  I haven't showered in a couple days, my hair hasn't been washed in God knows when (5 or 6 days is my guess), the last time I shaved my legs I forgot to shave one of them and for the love of all that is holy my children woke up at SIX A.M. THIS MORNING.  I am not in the best of moods at the moment.

I know that we have missed week 12 & 13 but I was on a lovely vacation far, far away from all responsibility aside from the survival of my current 3 children.  We road tripped out to Washington State to see family and made some stops at Glacier National Park in Montana and also stopped in Rapid City for a day to see Mt. Rushmore.  We had a grand time and Squirt was very nice to mom.  I didn't have to pee too often and my nausea did rear its ugly head a few times but nothing horrible.  All in all a very big success!

Squirtypie had his/her first doctor appointment on Monday.  Susa didn't seem surprised to see me.  All he asked was why my hair looked different.  The man has seen my who-ha 8 million times but he notices my hair.  Which, by the way, nothing was different.  It was wet because I had enough time to shower quick before my appointment.  I'm sure he would have loved doing a cervical in my current cleanly condition.

Squirt's heartbeat was running at 153 beats per minute and I got to see baby on the big screen!  At first I didn't think I needed an ultrasound but changed my mind at the last minute.  I couldn't resist seeing my little pumpkin.  Everyone agreed with my dates so due date remains 12/25 but Squirt was measuring almost a week bigger.  I know that means nothing.  Probably all the snacks I had on the trip fattened him up.  Every single time I see my babies in an ultrasound I'm amazed at what Max and I create.  There really is a baby in there.  That hit me very hard while at the appointment.  Obviously I knew I was pregnant but I'm busy.  I'm running around after 3 kids so I don't have much time to think about it.  I am growing a human baby part Max part me in there.  Another addition to our clan.  I can't believe it.

I got all the normal tests done, I'm doing another water birth so got that extra HepC test done and lucky me it was time for a pap smear as well.  Thank goodness I didn't have the kids with me.  My Gma and my aunt watched them for me.  I can just imagine the questions Dexter would come up with if he was in the room while I was having a cervical done.  "Why is the doctor looking between your legs? "  "Why don't you have underwear on?"  "Can I see that metal thing?  "Does Daddy know what's going on?"  Oh gosh.  Seriously.

I'm anxiously anticipating feeling the baby hopefully this week!  I felt Simon & Ada at 14 weeks so I hope the same follows for Squirt.  I guess I will let you know next week.

Off to shower and hopefully my foul mood goes down the drain with all the dirt and grime and momness that has accumulated.

#4- 11 weeks

This is dejavu times four.

How am I doing this already again?  FOUR KIDS.  I can't even.

Let's stick to the facts.  Fact is this baby is a slight surprise for us.  While we did plan on having a 4th baby, we did not plan on one right now.  This baby is magic.  That's a lie.  We know what happens to make babies.  And here this baby is.

My sweet little squirt is due on Christmas Day.  We haven't gone to the doctor yet because, again, let's be honest.  This is a 4th baby.  I have had 3 very healthy pregnancies before this and there is just no need to rush to the doctor.  I'm well aware I'm pregnant and don't need a pregnancy confirmation.  I'm well aware of the exact date of conception so I know our due date.  I have made the doctor appointment for when we are about 14 or 15 weeks.  I don't remember.

This exhaustion is kicking my A**.  Seriously, this is the hardest so far to deal with.  I have no morning sickness, mild nausea and an aversion to all food that is healthy for me (much to Max's dismay) but man alive I am tired ALL THE TIME.  I have to get a nap in every day and I am normally not a napper.  I can easily go to bed at 8:00 pm and waking up at 7:00 am is very difficult.  Sleep is all I want.  Sleep and homemade mac & cheese with velveeta.  And all processed foods.  I'm looking forward to *hopefully* this exhaustion leaving around 14 weeks like it did with the other three.

My stomach pooched out almost immediately.  How do I know this?  About the week we found out we were for sure pregnant (about 4 weeks) Dexter was watching me after dinner and said, "Oh wow Mom!  It looks like there is a baby in your tummy!"  He said that many times before we finally told the kids at 10 weeks.  I feel larger than the previous pregnancies but my uterus is all stretchy and pissed about being in constant use.

I'm still mildly breastfeeding Ada.  She is very attached to nursing and while I have no interest in tandem nursing both Ada and Squirtypie, I don't have the heart to wean her off yet.  I have her down to just before and after nap and before and after bed.  This is all happening on my left side as my right side is as dry as the desert in summer.  My poor working boob hurts like the dickens though.  Ada does a number on it trying to get more milk than what is available.

Do you know what happened yesterday?  This should be embarrassing but I'm pregnant so I'm not embarrassed about anything.  Max was staring at me and pointed out an irregular hair on my chinny chin chin.  I say irregular hair because I refuse to use THAT WORD.  You know... whisker.  It was not THAT WORD.  While I will admit it was not a normal peach fuzz it didn't have the girth or strength of THAT WORD.  I tried to get it but couldn't without a mirror so I *gasp* let Max get it.  That there will get you pregnant.  Watch out.  Nothing attracts a man more than pulling out irregular hairs.

Until next time.  Meaning next week.  Not my next pregnancy which I'm sure will happen two minutes after I have Squirt because Max and I are the KING AND QUEEN OF ALL FERTILITY!

DIY carpet cleaner for poopy situations... literally.

I'm writing this blog for any other mommas out there who might find themselves in the same situation I found myself in at 615 a.m. this morning.

You are never on top of your game at 615 in the morning.  I don't care who you are.  I don't care if you are a morning person or if you had 18 hours of sleep previous to waking up at 615 in the morning.  You aren't fooling anyone.

If you are anything like me, you went to bed *early* for the first time all week and for some magical reason, the universe decided to let you sleep for 6 or 7 hours straight.  But then, the universe strikes back.  You find yourself being woke up from a 1/2 sleep nursing daze by your 22 month old holding his hand out. 

In this 1/2 sleep nursing daze you are in, you don't notice anything in his hand.  You pat his head and tell him to get off the bed.  You lazily roll yourself out of bed bringing the baby with you.  You tell your generous husband who is offering to get up with the kids to go back to sleep since you have been half awake since 530 when your 3 year old came into your room trying to sneak into your bed.

Oh how you will regret turning down his offer.

You will then notice your 3 year old sitting on the stairs.  The carpeted stairs.  You will then notice your 22 month old pointing at something on the stairs.

Then it happens.  You smell something.  Crap.  I mean this literally and figuratively. 

THERE IS POOP ON YOUR STAIRS.  And not just one stair.  And not just a turd.  I'm talking squishy, nasty mushy poop on multiple stairs.

Honestly.  You control your instant reaction (which is, of course, yelling WHAT THE HELL!!!!!) and then carry your poop smearing child to the bathroom so the squishy, smelly glob of doom doesn't spread even more past the top of the pajama bottoms.  You toss said child into the shower while continuing to yell "WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!" in your head but verbally just telling your child you disapprove of this wake up call.

Then you realize... how the devil do you get this poop off the stairs?  You don't have a carpet cleaner (something you are finding that with 3 young kids you should really invest in) and you have no idea how to get this s**t off the carpet.

Here it is.  Tried and true. 

DIY Carpet Cleaner
1/2 qt hot water
1 TB white vinegar
1 TB dish soap
generous dash of peroxide
5-6 drops of Tea Tree Oil

Get as much of the squishy, smelly glob of doom of your carpet as you can with toilet paper or paper towel or if you are a crunchy, natural sort use a prefold.  Whip up this simple little recipe and use whatever you have to scrub to get the rest out.  I used an old toothbrush.

That s**t is off the stairs and now that you have had some coffee, you are feeling a little better. 

Ada's birth story

On Monday the 10th, I had my 39 week apt.  I was measuring 39 weeks, baby's heartbeat was at 162 and I was still 4 cm dilated.  Let's just say my doc was getting really antsy about inducing.  I mean REALLY antsy.  He knew that I wanted to go into labor naturally so I could have my element of surprise so he didn't push me.  He stripped my membranes and we started discussing options for inducing.  I decided to wait a couple days to see if stripping my membranes would do anything.  He said he was available any day I wanted to induce and would even call us early in the morning one day and tell us "Today is the day! Come on in!" so that I could have my surprise birth day and still be induced.  Ha, that is how much he wanted to induce.


Tuesday morning I was making breakfast for the boys and a gush came.  My water broke naturally with Dexter so I know how much amniotic fluid comes when your water breaks and this wasn't enough.  It wasn't a tiny amount since Dex said I peed my pants but not enough.  This was when I noticed I started losing my mucus plug.  I called Max and updated him but nothing happened the rest of the day.  I chalked it up as peeing my pants.


Wednesday morning I woke up super early and lay awake until Max got up for work.  I got up with him and figured I would take a nice long shower without kids hollering at the door.  While in the shower I felt another gush and the rest of my mucus plug was out.  Again, I told Max to treat it as peeing my pants.  I sent him off to work and went about my morning.


I got to thinking about what IF my water had started breaking and it had been past 24 hours.  I called Max and asked what he thought about calling Labor and Delivery.  We knew that if I called, they would just tell us to come in so they could check us and if my doc knew that we were in the hospital being checked, he would just keep us there.  I ended up calling and of course, they said they wanted us to come in so they could check.  After more discussion with Max, we decided we were ok with going into the hospital knowing that we would end up staying there and being induced if my water hadn't broken.


Max left work to come get me and I made arrangements for the boys.  I also got some stuff done around the house so the place was decent for my mom while she stayed here with the boys.  We dropped the boys off at Max's sister's and we were off.


We checked into the hospital and was shown to our room.  Remember, I wanted a water birth so that was the room we got.  The nurse told us that when she talked to our doc he said "She's staying!  Ruptured membranes or not she's staying!"  Ha, we knew he would say that.  When they checked me it turns out I did indeed pee my pants and my water was in tact.  So we started the inducing process.  They checked me and I was 5 cm at this point.


For me, this means getting hooked up to the penicillin for four hours before anything happens.  I am a particularly bad stick, which I told them, but no one ever believes me.  One hour, three nurses and multiple bruises later I finally had my IV in and we started the penicillin.  This was roughly around noon.  At this point, we just hang out.  Watched some TV, Max ran some errands and putzed on the internet.


I noticed at this point that contractions were coming more regularly than they had before.  Nothing serious but enough that I think if we hadn't been in the hospital already, baby would have probably come either that night or the next day.  The nurses commented a couple times as well how my contractions were starting to pick up speed.  Nothing that would count as labor though.


At 3pm the doc came in and broke my water.  It was easy and took about 2 minutes.  He said he would be back around 5pm to check on me and see how things were going.  It took about 15 minutes before I started really feeling the contractions.  They got strong very quickly.  The nurse was in and out getting stuff ready and she wanted to go over that information packet they have.  She was getting nervous though that things were going too quickly so the packet was forgotten.


The contractions were painful of course, but nothing horrible.  I kept pacing the whole time not stopping during contractions.  Once it got to be too much to move, I just stayed by the counter in front of the TV and just gripped the counter.  I felt like it was 1000 degrees in there so I didn't want anyone touching me so Max got out of having to have his hand squished.  I asked at what point women normally go into the tub and the nurse told me generally around 8 cm.  I thought I was a long way off from this so I wanted to wait even though she and Max kept asking if I wanted to go in the tub yet.  I thought I would have lots of time for the tub.  Mind you, this was about 45 minutes after my water broke.


At 4pm they wanted to start my second dose of penicillin so they checked me before hooking me up to that dog gone IV machine.  I was 8 cm.  We started the tub and I got hooked up to the penicillin.  Once the tub was filled enough for me to get in I got out of my skivvies and was about to get in the tub when I had what felt like a 10 minute contraction.  Oh man they were painful at this point but I hadn't had any reservations about going natural at this point.  Finally, I was able to move enough to get myself hoisted into the tub. 


By the time I got in the tub it was like 430pm.  I had about 30 seconds before more contractions and it felt really relaxing for those 30 seconds.  This was the only time, the ONLY time I thought, "I can't do this!"  Once the contractions started I needed to push.  I mean seriously needed to push.  I told them this but the nurses said I needed to try to hold off a little bit since they just checked me and I was 8 cm.  They didn't want me to tear if I still had some cervix left.  Let me tell you, there is no way on God's green earth that I wasn't about to push.  I think for 2 or 3 contractions I tried not to but after that I didn't care anymore.  I pushed. 


Things get a bit fuzzy at this point but I remember them alerting my doc to get down there as I was hollering that I was pushing.  It was during this particular moment I felt the baby.  I was on my knees in the tub leaning against the side of the tub and once I yelled, "baby!  baby!" the nurses finally took me seriously and started running around.  One nurse asked me to try and turn on my back and I yelled at her "NOPE!  NOPE!  NOT HAPPENING!".  Another nurse was yelling into the intercom, "GET THE DOC IN HERE!" as another nurse reached down and was honestly holding the baby in.  She said it was because they didn't want me to tear with the baby coming out so fast but Max and I are pretty sure it was because they wanted to see if the doc could get there.  Let me tell you, holding a baby in your birth canal for any length of time is not comfortable.  It's funny how the pain is gone, just gone when you are pushing and back when you aren't.


Either way, the nurse was holding the baby in and everyone was screaming for the doc when finally he arrived.  The nurse had just said that the next push the baby would have to be delivered so either way, baby would be out.  Max says that while the doc was getting his gloves on the nurse moved her hand and 2/3 of baby's head popped out.  Doc reached down in the water and one push later baby was out.  It was 4:44pm.


I can't even tell you the relief I felt when baby was finally out.  I have never experienced anything like it.  I was still on my knees facing the tub wall and the baby came out behind me.  I didn't see the baby come out or feel it.  I heard the doc lift the baby out of the water and said, "Here Max, tell us what the baby is!"  Max wanted to be the one to announce it but hadn't had time to tell the doctor so what a nice surprise that he let Max tell me.  I heard Max say, "It's a girl!"


She was finally here.  Our beautiful little girl. I had to maneuver myself to my back and do some leg lifting to avoid the umbilical cord  but finally she was in my arms. 


It's amazing the difference the water birth made for her.  She didn't cry at all!  She was very alert and was looking around.  We sat in the water for a little while and still she didn't cry.  It wasn't for another half hour that we would finally hear her cry.


One hour and 44 minutes.  That is how long my labor took. 


If we would have waited until my water broke naturally I doubt we would barely have made it to the hospital.  My doctor said, not even 5 minutes after she was born, "and this, Jessie, is why we are inducing you at 39 weeks for the next one."  I suppose he is right!


A girl. She terrifies me with the thought of future hormones but my, oh my, how I love her.  I love to stare at her and smell that wonderful newborn smell.  I miss her when she's actually down in the swing and love to use my wrap to carry her with me all day.  Her brothers love her so much.  They shower her with hugs and kisses.  I am one lucky lady.

39 weeks

This week has been a very stressful week.  I think God made a very good plan in keeping this baby inside of me until we got some house issues taken care of.

Our electric started going haywire to the point where barely anything worked.  It took two days to get it figured out and a visit from the electric company.  (Who at this very minute are updating the transformer outside our house.)  Then, we started having a problem with our sewage and nothing was draining into the septic tank.  We haven't been able to laundry for a little while again and it go to where we couldn't shower or flush the toilet.  My dad came and saved the day and got that up and running so now we have the ability to use water and we have electric.  Thank goodness our house is heated by propane so we didn't have to worry about getting cold.

My husband was a saint through all this... dealt with everything calmly while trying to keep me from freaking out as well.  He made many trips into the cold and running around the house without complaining.  I married a good man.

All this may seem like it has nothing to do with my pregnancy but it does.  If baby would have come out I would be writing a very different story.

My 38 week appointment went well.  Baby's heartbeat was at 153 and measured 39 weeks.  My cervical check showed that I am still 4 cm dilated and am still roughly 70-80% effaced.  I have been having tons of contractions, constant Braxtons and those sharp little twinges in my cervix.  All show that baby is getting ready.  I know I have dropped as well because I can't see my belly button anymore and I haven't had heartburn all week. 

Other then that, we are just waiting.  I'm not good at this waiting game... I want to meet my baby!

38 weeks

Another week closer to baby arriving!

I don't have much to report.  Since everything is ready, we are just in a waiting stage.  Our 37 week appointment went well.  Baby's heartbeat was at 140 bpm and I measured 36 weeks.  My cervical check showed I was 4 cm dilated and still about 70% effaced.  This was good news!  Progress but not tons of progress like my 37 week appointment with Simon. 

We asked a lot of questions about the treatment options for GBS and were able to make a plan that allowed us to go into labor naturally but still have Momma and baby covered in the antibiotic department.  This made us much more relieved about the whole thing.  How exciting to be able to go naturally like we did with Dexter!  Knowing that every hour could be when something starts.  My water broke with Dexter and then I started contracting but it could be the opposite this time.  I'm so excited!

The heartburn has been horrible this week.  Horrible, horrible, horrible.  I wake up every night with it and can't fall asleep for quite some time.  I  can't wait for the heartburn to be over with.  I only get it when I'm pregnant so knowing I am 2ish weeks away from not feeling this for a long time is getting me excited.

Other than that I am just trying to stay in the moment and relish every last bit of my pregnancy with my little Cookie.  Every movement is precious and every hiccup is adorable.  Even the kicks and jabs that hurt I'm taking in stride knowing that soon I won't feel them anymore.  As much as I want this baby to come out and meet us, I also want to enjoy these last little bits of time with Dexter and Simon.  I know Dex will adjust fine to the baby but I'm a bit worried about Simon.  So any additional time to lavish them with my love and attention is good.

Did I mention that I am STILL stretch mark free!  How amazing!  They didn't even come back in the spots where I got them with Dex and Simon.  I still haven't had very much swelling either.  This has been quite remarkable as I was horribly stretch mark-y with both boys and horribly swollen.  I guess another indicator that this could be a little lady?  Who knows! 

This weekend we are going to start doing some natural ways to get labor going.  I am trying to talk Max into a trip to the MOA so we can do a lot of walking and perhaps get the boys a present from the baby.  I don't do spicy food but we will see what other things I can find on the internet to get labor going.  I see that a lot of people have guessed the 2nd for when the baby will arrive.  Time will tell!  I hope so!  2-2-14 sounds like a great birthday to me and fits in with my love of even numbers :) 

Time to Guess

I think it's fun to guess stuff about the baby :)  I might be the only one but oh well.

I think Cookie is a girl.
I think she will either come Jan 30 or Feb 11.
I think she will be 7 lbs 9 oz and 19 in long.

If you are the type to base your guess off stats or previous children, I have included some things midwives tales are based off of for all kiddos.

Cookie:

-Heartbeat has averaged around 150 bpm with the highest being 176 at 10 weeks pregnant and the lowest being 136 at my 32 week appointment.
-I have carried Cookie neither high nor low but right in the middle.
-Cookie has always measured right on track for his/her due date.
- 36 week appointment was almost 3cm dilated and 70% effaced.


Dexter:

-I carried him low.
-He measured on time.
-His heartbeat averaged in the 150's.
-36 week apt was 2 cm dilated 50% effaced.  37 week apt was 3 cm dilated 75% effaced.  38 week apt I measured about the same.
-My water broke naturally at 38 weeks 2 days. 
-My labor took 7 hours.
-He was 7 lbs 2 oz and 18 in long.

Simon:

-I carried him high.
-He always measured large.
-His heartbeat was always higher... in the 160's to 170's until the very end.
-36 week apt was 2 cm dilated 50% effaced.  37 week apt was almost 6 cm 100% effaced.  Was same at 38 week apt and again when I was checked a few days later.
-I was checked into the hospital the day I turned 39 weeks and they broke my water.  No Pitocin needed.
-My labor was exactly 4 hours long.
He was 8 lbs 2 oz and 21 in long.

37 weeks

*I am mildly horrified at how I look in this picture and am only using to save time since I will be too lazy to write this blog later.  Your welcome.*

3 weeks until due date.  The chances are more likely that baby will be here in 2 weeks... Obviously that doesn't mean it will happen that way but the chances are more than likely. 

This week was ok.  I came down with a nasty bad head cold and that really rocked our rhythm.  I haven't been sleeping well because I can't breathe and I have had horrible heartburn again.  Tossing and turning in your third trimester is more grunting and heaving.  We had a lot of couch time this week because of this cold.  Well, as much couch time as a 3 year old and two almost 18 month olds will allow.  Since they have come down with a version of this cold as well, we all have been enjoying some extra movie time and earlier nap times. 

I'm losing track of what I'm talking about.

Cold.  Yes.  So with the addition of the chest/head cold and the baby being so large, I am having a hard time getting a nice deep breath.  I miss being able to take in as much oxygen as my lungs can hold and letting it out.  I'm waiting for the baby to drop so I feel that sensation of finally being able to breathe again but I think this cold wouldn't allow for that to happen anyway.

I have been  having so. many. Braxton Hicks contractions.  Anything I do makes them come on.  Coughing, sneezing, laughing, etc. all makes for a good bout of Braxton Hicks.  I have been having regular contractions here and there as well.  Yesterday I had quite a few.  I woke up to a very strong, painful contraction and spent the whole day with Braxtons coming every few minutes to every 5 minutes.  When I took a shower at nap time, I had 5 real contractions right in a row.  They weren't as painful as the one I got in the morning but enough to blow out a little extra breathe in the midst of them.  They stopped once I got out of the shower.

This reminds me, I had my 36 week doctor appointment.  Baby's heartbeat was at 144 and I was measuring at 37 weeks along.  I had my cervical check and I am about 3 cm dilated and was 70% effaced.  I know a lot of women are in labor when their bodies are at this point but my body doesn't work that way.  This means almost nothing.  My appointment was on Monday so my next appointment is this coming Monday and we will see what progress has been made.

Much to my dismay, I tested positive for GBS again.  This was expected but still disappointing to happen.  It means I will be positive for every pregnancy.  Max and I are extremely against having my water broken again to buy us the 4 hours necessary for the penicillin (which is what we had to do with Simon) and want to go into labor naturally.  We are trying to determine the best course of action since we also are very against our newborn being on antibiotics straight out of the womb.  There are natural ways you can treat GBS but is sounds like they need at least 2 weeks to see results and I don't think we have that time.  I am so bummed about this.  I am happy though that Max and I are in agreement to let labor come on naturally this time.  I guess I can only hope that my labor will last longer than 4 hours from when I enter the hospital. 

We got to take a look at the water birth room and ask the nurse some questions.  I feel much better now that I have a visual in my head of how things are going to be set up.  One less thing in the unknown category.  I am trying to to be scared of the pain but it's natural and I can only just tell myself to relax and what will be will be.  I can do this.  I am made to give birth.  The pain is only for a small period of time and I will get to meet my baby.  Uffda.  Men have it so easy.

We are ready for baby.  Hospital bag is as packed as it can get, we have some freezer meals cooked and ready for post baby, the kids bag is packed in case Grandma wants to keep the kiddos at her house instead of coming to ours, the car seat is decked out in all manners of warmth so baby doesn't freeze in these frequent sub-zero temperatures.  This weekend will be devoted to cleaning the house so we can bring baby home to a cozy, clean environment.  Normally I would take on all the cleaning as I do a better job of it but Max will have to do a good part of it as some of it is tedious, bending over scrubbing work.  Too hard on this gal's back.  While he is scrubbing away, I will make some more wool diaper covers for our wee little one.  We plan on disposables in the hospital but as soon as baby is home s/he will be in cloth.  So we need those bad boys. 

Alright, I think this is long enough.  Until next week!  Maybe :)

Song of the Spirits by Sarah Lark and The Pianist in the Dark by Michele Halberstadt

Song of the Spirits is the second book from Sarah Lark.  It is the telling of the next generation from her original book The Land of the Long White Cloud.  Since I read and enjoyed her first book I wanted to read this second installment as well. 

 

Both books are very long.  Even I took a few days to read this book and that is saying something.  I had a bit of trouble getting into this one at first but once I got to know the new characters and got to revisit some of the characters from the first book I enjoyed it.  Seriously though, it is long. 

 

The first book spans over a long period of time but this second one devotes itself to the passing of a few years.  There were moments where it felt like it was dragging on but then there were moments where I couldn't wait to see what happened. 

 

Amazon review here and here is the review from the first book.  I am not sure if I ever wrote anything about that one.

 

The Pianist in the Dark took some getting into.  By the time I finally got the jist of what the story was going to be about I was surprised to find I was almost halfway through already.  This was a short book and not one of my favorites. 

It takes place way back in the day with Austrian society and talk of the Empress and what have you. The premise of the book sounded good and since it was free at the time I downloaded it.  I wish we could have had a bit more detail and a little less vagueness.  I honestly whipped through this book in just a couple hours and wasn't sad when it was done.  Either way, I read it through and since I like to keep track of what I am reading in case of any *gasp* Kindle malfunction here it is.

Amazon review here.

35 & 36 weeks

 

Forgive me again... I was too lazy to write last week.

We are nearing the finish line and all my thoughts are mostly devoted to preparing for the baby, how life will be after the baby is born, do we have a little girl or a little boy in there, etc.  We mostly have everything ready.  I have a short list on our chalkboard right now to complete and once that is done we are completely ready! 

I was looking at the calendar last week and it suddenly hit me that the possibility is there that the baby could be here as soon as next week.  Some women have their babies at 37 weeks and what if that was me?  I started panicking.  Obviously I realize I am at the end of my pregnancy but I didn't really think of the end end... you know, the part where the baby actually comes out and you take it home.  I kind of just got used to the idea of being huge pregnant and figured I'd be like that for a long time.  I mean, seriously!  I am having a baby in the next few weeks! 

Baby is doing well.  My weekly emails tell me that s/he is fully developed and is now just gaining weight.  My belly feels much heavier and my movements are much slower.  Getting up off the floor requires some work and since I love my baths so much, getting out of the tub is quite a chore.  I haven't had to yell for Max yet :)  Nighttime has become pretty uncomfortable.  I move around a lot in my sleep and it is so hard to even roll over.  I want so badly to sleep on my stomach or even my back that I wake up sometimes on my back and my legs and hips are slightly numb.  That is not good.  Too much pressure on my spine and that vein they are always talking about.  I chide myself and grunt while turning on my side again. 

My body is in labor prep mode.  My hips are spreading in preparation for birth, my boobs have gotten huge (well, for me) so they can hold all the milk my little love will need and I'm exhausted all the time again so I can store up energy for what's in store.  In reaction to the hormones racing through my system my face has broken out again.  This baby is lucky I love him/her otherwise I would have quite a hard time with the acne.  My face has also started getting plump and squishy like the Pillsbury doughboy.  This happens every time at the end so it is to be expected although not appreciated.  Surprisingly, my feet haven't swollen at all.  I can't believe it but it's true!  My feet were pretty large at the end of Dexter's pregnancy and were gigantic and cracking and bleeding at the end of Simon's pregnancy so to have my feet looking normal and fitting into all my normal shoes is quite impressive.  Go feet!

If I am going by comparison, I can tell this baby will be a bit shorter than Simon was.  Dex was 18 inches and Simon was 21 inches and I always felt Simon kicking high up in my ribs.  This baby doesn't get that far up.  S/he sticks their butt up to create lumps a lot and you can see an elbow make its way across my belly.  I will miss these movements even if they hurt at times. 

The baby gets the hiccups a lot and it really rocks my belly.  If I'm in the tub the water quakes all around me with each hiccup the baby has.  Poor little bugger probably hates those strong hiccups. 

Heartburn is incredibly frequent although not with the ferociousness of that one week.  I still crave sweets above all else and I even beat my husband in eating anything laying around that has a sweet flavor.  He has the ultimate sweet tooth and is baffled at opening a tin of bars and seeing I've already eaten most of them.   Whoops!  I only have myself to blame for my weight gain this month.

Speaking of which, my 36 week doctor appointment is on Monday.  You know what this means... the dreaded GBS test.  The test itself isn't dreaded but the result is.  A lot of how my labor will play out will depend on if I am GBS positive again and so I am praying, pleading and begging that I be negative this time.  I don't care one iota if I go to 42 weeks as long as I am GBS negative.  I suppose we will find out.  I will have another cervical check again to see if I have started dilating and effacing.  With both Dexter and Simon I was 2 cm/50% effaced at my 36 week appointment.  I'm all stretched out now because of the boys so I would have to be 3cm/50% effaced to be the same this time.  I'm excited for my appointment to see if we have some progress or if baby is happily tucked in tight. 

That's all I have for you today folks... I would rather be on the couch relaxing, watching my new chick flick I bought myself and eating something sweet.  So that is where I am headed until nap time is over :)